White House Backtracks, Will Not Seek Revocation of Jim Acosta’s Credential (UPDATE)
Shortly after the White House sent a letter to Jim Acosta informing the CNN correspondent of their plans to once again revoke his access, the Trump administration is reversing course.
According to John Roberts of Fox News and Jonathan Karl of ABC News, the White House plans to abandon its efforts to pull Acosta’s credential.
SCOOP: @WhiteHouse to not seek revocation of @Acosta hard pass — sources
— John Roberts (@johnrobertsFox) November 19, 2018
A senior WH official tells me the White House is dropping its effort to ban Jim Acosta for his behavior at the Nov 7 press conference.
The office says, however, the White House reserves the right to revoke Acosta’s pass if he violates White House decorum in the future.
— Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) November 19, 2018
MSNBC has also confirmed the reports.
Karl does note, in his report, that the White House “reserves the right to revoke Acosta’s pass if he violates White House decorum in the future” — giving them the opening to change their mind once again.
The likelihood that the White House would have been successful in barring Acosta, had they proceeded with their efforts, was slim at best. A Federal judge had already given Acosta a favorable ruling in the case — granting him a temporary restraining order and decreeing that his credentials be returned for 14 days. But the judge did give the White House latitude to continue to argue the case. For the moment, it appears they will not do so.
Watch above, via Fox News.
UPDATE 3:45 p.m. ET — In response to the White House backing off, CNN is dropping its lawsuit against the White House.
Today the @WhiteHouse fully restored @Acosta's press pass. As a result, our lawsuit is no longer necessary. We look forward to continuing to cover the White House.
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) November 19, 2018
